Trader Joe’s Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee Is More Acidic, Less Caffeinated Than Advertised, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Trader Joe’s falsely advertises its Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee as a low-acid regular coffee, given that the product is neither low acid nor fully caffeinated.

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According to the 23-page lawsuit, testing found that Trader Joe’s Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee, when prepared according to the label’s instructions, has an average pH of 5.44, which the lawsuit contends is only “marginally” less acidic than regular coffee, which has a pH range of between 4.8 and 5.4.

Additionally, the case says that the manufacturing process “stripped” the coffee of caffeination such that it contains less caffeine than competing manufacturers’ half-caffeine, or “half-caff,” coffees.  

Trader Joe’s “utilizes highly misleading packaging to trick consumers into believing that they are purchasing genuine ‘low acid’ coffee, at low acid prices,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit conveys that consuming highly acidic beverages can lead to “significant” health risks and worsening symptoms over time. Acidic coffee increases the risk of “prolonged” stomach inflammation for those with gastritis and ulcers, which can potentially lead to complications or delayed healing because of ongoing irritation, the case states.

Further, acidic coffee contributes to the erosion of tooth enamel, increasing the risk of cavities and tooth sensitivity, the filing says.

Per the suit, consumers with health conditions that can be exacerbated by a high-acid diet, such as acid reflux and IBS, tend to seek out low-acid coffee, which the case says is produced through a special roasting process that produces fewer chlorogenic acids and has a higher pH, meaning less acidity, and thus a less-acidic taste.

The case says that coffee sold in the United States is traditionally categorized as regular, decaffeinated, or half-caff, and mislabeling a product in these categories can lead to a Food & Drug Administration recall. Regular coffee is by far the most popular, with approximately 90 percent of consumers in the United States opting for regular fully caffeinated coffee, per the case.

Trader Joe’s has allegedly failed to disclose that the caffeine content of its Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee has been reduced. According to the case, the label states only that the coffee’s acidity has been impacted by the additional processing, leading consumers to believe that the coffee is low-acid but fully caffeinated.

The case states that testing has confirmed that the coffee has the “caffeine characteristics” of a half-caff blend, not a regular coffee, despite there being no indication of its half-caff properties on the product’s packaging.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Trader Joe’s has known since at least February 2025 that the coffee at issue has less than half the caffeine of regular coffee, yet the company has “done nothing” to amend the product’s label.

Additionally, the case says that, with a pH of 5.44, Trader Joe’s Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee cannot be considered a truly low-acid coffee; at best, it could be considered medium acidity, the suit claims. The difference between the purportedly low-acid coffee and regular coffee is “marginal” and unlikely to impart any meaningful health benefits, the filing says. 

Per the case, Trader Joe’s misrepresentations are “particularly dangerous” because consumers expecting a regularly caffeinated, low-acid coffee may wind up inadvertently consuming more coffee, and thus more overall acid, to reach their “expected dose” of caffeine, leading to adverse health effects.

The lawsuit contends that Trader Joe’s continues to make false and misleading statements about the composition of its Low Acid Dark French Roast Coffee to capitalize on consumer trends without investing the time or resources to produce a coffee that has a low level of acidity, as low-acid coffee “routinely commands double the asking price” of regular coffee.

The Trader Joe’s class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who purchased the defendant’s coffee product labeled with a representation on the front packaging that it was “low acid” and “100% Arabica whole bean coffee.”

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